Thursday 25th April 2019 – Saturday 27th April 2019 – Have An Adventure Weekend + Adelaide In Stations

Oh my, what a weekend!

Let’s start with the London Paddington – Penzance sleeper train – The Night Riviera on Thursday 25th of April (Also ANZAC Day!).

Paddington Bear
The amazing Paddington station
GWR sign on the train
The name of the Loco hauling my sleeper service
Cornish on the side of the sleeper train

That was so much fun, I loved the experience of being on the sleeper train. I had been on a sleeper train before in India, but this was more exciting as it was for a holiday.

I was a bit over excited and promptly boarded the train at 10:30pm – even though it didn’t leave until 11:45pm! It didn’t book a sleeper berth, which was a mistake, as I didn’t get any sleep! Oh well, live and learn.

Once I had boarded the train, because I didn’t have a berth, I got settled in my seat and waited for the train to depart. When the train departed all I wanted to do was look out the window, but as it was pitch black there was nothing, other than the occasional set of station lights, as we sped past.

At 12:27 the train pulled into Reading station, where I jumped out and had a last look around, before settling down to……sleep!

As I said earlier, I did not manage much, if any, sleep. I’m not going to knock GWR or anything, it was just that I didn’t have a bed and that was all really. Next time I get a sleeper train I will definitely be getting a bed!

At 7:55am on Friday the 26th of April the train pulled into a very rainy Penzance.

Penzance welcome sign outside the station
Classic station sign
The rainy beach of Penzance!

After having a little explore of Penzance, and some breakfast, I was back on the train up to Liskeard – the 9:35am CrossCountry to Manchester Piccadilly, my first CrossCountry service.

Liskeard station is a lovely station, with a signal box and a semaphore signal.

Liskeard Sign on Platform 3
Station Building on Platform 3
Trains To Looe
Main Liskeard Station Building

I caught the 11:15am GWR Liskeard to Looe – the Looe Valley line. Oh my word the line is beautiful (I feel like that’s an understatement). So lush and green, I seriously could not believe that I was going to the beach, it looked like a green forest, not the way to the beach. (Watch the vlog for the footage) You literally round a corner and there is this picturesque beach and seaside town of Looe.

I had a little mooch around the lovely town of Looe, wandered down to the beach, had, of course, a Cornish Pasty and then back on the train to Coombe Junction Halt.

The walk down from the station to the beach
The sea!
Just a cute little street
Welcome to the Looe Valley Line
Looe stone sign

3:21pm and the train pulls into Coombe Junction Halt and who else is on the train – Vicki Pipe and Geoff Marshall of All The Stations, the reason Adelaide In Stations started. As it happens, Geoff was getting off at Coombe Jcn Halt as well!

Coombe Junction Halt was a two-in-one station for me. One was, it was my Have An Adventure station, and two, it was an Adelaide In Stations station (I need a better way to say that).

In the excitement of it all I didn’t actually get a photo of just the station sign, so I have my Have An Adventure photo, which I now think makes it a nice memory.

Look who is it!
Look down the tracks
The view from the top of the station

After a look around at the beautiful nothingness of the station and at the track ground frame, we made the steep walk up to Liskeard town centre. Wow, what a climb, not going to lie I didn’t actually know it was an up hill walk – whoops, with my heavy bag! It was a great walk, apart from the hill.

I had a lovely evening at the premiere evening of the Devon and Cornwall Railway Partnership. Learn more about that on they website (link).

Liskeard is a lovely little town – very English countryside – little hilly streets, old house and friendly people.